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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26189446">In Darkness, Light</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/CappuccettoRosso/pseuds/CappuccettoRosso'>CappuccettoRosso</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Konoha in Space [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Naruto</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, Community: kakairu_fest, M/M</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 04:33:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,408</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26189446</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/CappuccettoRosso/pseuds/CappuccettoRosso</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Kakashi and Iruka go see the lights together.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>Konoha in Space [2]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1871566</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Nine Weeks of Summer 2020</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>In Darkness, Light</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is for the prompt: festival. Yay! The plot thickens!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <hr/><p> </p><p> </p><p>"Did you really steal a ship?"</p><p> </p><p>"…steal is such an ugly word," Kakashi says. "I simply borrowed it. I gave it back. No harm done."</p><p> </p><p>Iruka hums and shots him an amused look. "No harm done, he says, and yet, we had to dry dock it to fix the external damage."</p><p> </p><p>Kakashi doesn't immediately respond. He leans back in his seat and takes a long sip of his drink. It's some kind of alcoholic drink made of fruit from a plant that grows in shallow water. It is one of the few terrestrial plants that Janopia has. He forgets its name. "Blame the pirates."</p><p> </p><p>Iruka laughs and leans his head on Kakashi's shoulder. "Was Her Highness mad at you?"</p><p> </p><p>"Not really," Kakashi says, "she was more upset knowing I was alive."</p><p> </p><p>Iruka props himself up on an elbow and looks at him, confused. "Why would she think you were dead?"</p><p> </p><p>Kakashi hesitates. Iruka knows that Kakashi's life before their meeting was…dangerous. It was something impossible to hide. Kakashi carries the proof on his body, the scars, and burn marks, all tell a story of violence and survival. Still, Iruka doesn't know the details of Kakashi's life before Iruka; the number of people he has killed; of the fact that Hatake Kakashi was once known across the galaxy as Hound, the deadliest Imperial Shadow Guard.</p><p> </p><p>Kakashi shakes his head and focuses on the setting sun. He has no intention of telling Iruka, not yet anyway. What they have is still so new to Kakashi. Their relationship is still blossoming, and it has not gained the maturity needed, in Kakashi's opinion, to endure the horrors of his past.</p><p> </p><p>"You know I used to be a government agent," Kakashi begins, carefully choosing his words. He waits for Iruka to nod before he continues: "well my last mission went south and I was caught up in an explosion." An explosion was an understatement. The whole planet imploded and Kakashi had been the one to pull the trigger.</p><p> </p><p>"They didn't think anyone survived, so they declared me dead. I didn't correct them."</p><p> </p><p>Iruka looks thoughtful before he lays back down. "One day, you will tell me the complete truth."</p><p> </p><p>Kakashi wraps an arm around Iruka's shoulders and gives him a squeeze.</p><p> </p><p>They are quite for a moment and then Iruka speaks up again. "Will you come down to the festival with me?"</p><p> </p><p>"Ah, it's today. Of course!"</p><p> </p><p>Iruka sits up and moves to stand up. "Then come on! It is almost time."</p><p> </p><p>Kakashi quickly stands up and follows after Iruka. Iruka takes his hand and walks toward the ocean. The waves are gentle and the waters are warm. They move further in. Iruka stops just as the water comes up to their collarbones. He turns around and presses against Kakashi. Kakashi likes this part. He immediately wraps his arms around Iruka's shoulders and leans in to kiss Iruka.</p><p> </p><p>Iruka huffs against his lips but kisses him back. Suddenly, Iruka pulls Kakashi down, letting the ocean swallow them completely. Kakashi keeps his eyes closed. The world is suddenly quiet, peaceful. He feels weightless, not like being in space. In space, floating in zero gravity, one truly feels untethered, fully capable of floating away into infinity. Now, though, there is the reassuring pressure of the water around him, enveloping him and keeping him grounded, in a matter of speaking. His chest burns from holding his breath for so long, but he continues to hold it until he physically can't.</p><p> </p><p>Kakashi jerks away and he takes a deep breath. Sweet air fills his lungs, instead of water. Kakashi opens his eyes and Iruka smiles at him. Around his head is a bubble. The bubble's surface breaths for him, taking in the oxygen from the water and releasing the carbon monoxide he exhales. Kakashi touches the bubble but the bubble bends under his finger and doesn't pop.</p><p> </p><p>Iruka keeps a tight hold of him. He is an excellent swimmer, like most of his people. Kakashi loves to watch him swim, loves to see his body move, his hair floating around his head like dark seaweed, and his eyes glitter like dark pearls.</p><p> </p><p>Iruka takes them to a rocky lead that looks over the abyssal plain. Tall spirals grow upward from the ocean floor, glowing with an inner light. The indigenous people of Janopia were perfectly capable to living both on land and in the sea; their complex respiratory system giving them both lungs to breathe air and gills to breathe underwater. Most Janopians preferred to live in the ocean, in the giant underwater cities; but there were instances, like this festival, where that preference was put to the side; when an exception was made.</p><p> </p><p>In Janopia, every year around the time their planet's secondary moon rose in the sky, the people of the planet gathered to honor their dead and celebrate the life they had and the life that has continued despite their parting. They did this by releasing orbs filled with light, which would float up towards the surface and rise up toward the sky to join the stars. These orbs were thought to carry the joy, sorrow, and wishes of the living for the dead. Kakashi didn't believe that the dead were capable of hearing anything, but it was still a beautiful sight to see in any case.</p><p> </p><p>Down below, the lights of the city turn off, plunging the entire area into impenetrable darkness. They were so far down in the ocean, that not even the light of the moon above could penetrate. It was terrifying. Then, in the darkness, there were points of light. They were faint, at first, winking delicately, like distant stars, and then, Kakashi saw more and more lights appear. Most of them were orbs, but among them, there were lights that took interesting shapes. Kakashi knew from Iruka that some families would honor more than one dearly departed. They would customize their container into taking shape of a fish or other sea animal, rather than the traditional orb shape.</p><p> </p><p>Unexpectedly, a giant shape suddenly rises from the city.</p><p> </p><p>"That is a whale," Kakashi says, pointing. It was unnecessary, the thing was huge, no one can miss it.</p><p> </p><p>Next to him, Iruka gasps in admiration.</p><p> </p><p>"Oh, it came out beautifully," he says.</p><p> </p><p>"Who are they honoring?" Kakashi asks, voice incredulous, "the whole family line? How many generations can you go back to?"</p><p> </p><p>Iruka turns to him. He cocks his head to the side. "What? Did Her Majesty not tell you?"</p><p> </p><p>Kakashi frowns. "Tell me what?"</p><p> </p><p>Iruka makes a mournful, very much like an Earth whale would. Kakashi finds it cute, but he keeps that thought to himself. "It's in honor of the people of X4859."</p><p> </p><p>Kakashi freezes. "What?"</p><p> </p><p>"It was a terrorist attack," Iruka says, eyes on the glowing whale slowly floating upwards. "There were several large explosions. Billions of people died and it has affected their planet's ecosystem. They have been forced to abandon their planet since it can not sustain them anymore. Can you imagine, Kakashi, having to leave your planet because of the hateful actions of one person?"</p><p> </p><p>Kakashi doesn't reply. He could imagine it. Once, so long ago, Kakashi was just like those refuges. Saying goodbye to his home-world. Kakashi licks his lips.</p><p> </p><p>"What does that have to do with Her Majesty?" Kakashi asks.</p><p> </p><p>Iruka leans against his side and rests his head against Kakashi's shoulders. He speaks in a solemn voice. "The survivors of X4859 reached out to my people. They requested justice be down. We have accepted and summoned Her Majesty and Supreme Ruler Madara to Janopia."</p><p> </p><p>Kakashi chokes on his tongue. He twists around and grabs Iruka by the shoulders. Iruka stares at him in confusion.</p><p> </p><p>"What! You brought Madara to Janopia!" Kakashi practically shouts. "Are you insane?"</p><p> </p><p>Iruka looks unimpressed. "No. I assure you, I am quite sane."</p><p> </p><p>"Madara is wanted in several star systems," Kakashi says, voice incredulous. "I was once given orders to hunt him down and kill him. Spoilers, I failed and got this scar," he points to his eye, "instead. Even Her Majesty has issued an order to kill him on sight."</p><p> </p><p>Iruka waves a hand as if brushing his words away. "We care not. Nor do we care for the orders or laws of other worlds. This is Janopia, and we serve out justice to any and all that seek it.</p><p> </p><p>"No one can escape our judgment."</p>
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